Losses widen for Electronic Arts
Publisher "making tough calls" but performing well, says Riccitiello
Electronic Arts has posted financial results showing net losses increased during its second quarter to USD 391 million, a 26 per cent increase on the USD 310 million loss for the same period in 2008.
The company has announced plans to cut 1500 staff and "several facilities" by the end of March 2010 as part of a cost reduction initiative.
GAAP revenue dropped 12 per cent year-on-year to from USD 894 million to USD 788 million, while non-GAPP revenue was USD 1.14 billion, up 2 per cent from the year before.
"EA is performing well, with quality, sales and segment share up so far this year," offered John Riccitiello, Chief Executive Officer. "We are making tough calls to cut cost in targeted areas and investing more in our biggest games and digital businesses."
"We met our second quarter expectations and delivered a record quarter for revenue," added Eric Brown, Chief Financial Officer. "Today we are announcing a significant cut in our operating expenses and the acquisition of a leader in social games, Playfish."
The Playfish acquisition was announced earlier in the day, with the publisher picking up the team behind Pet Society and Country Story for USD 300 million.
EA released NHL 10, The Beatles: Rock Band, FIFA 10, Battlefield 1943, Madden NFL 10, NCAA Football 10, Dead Space: Extraction, and Need for Speed SHIFT during the period, all of which scored over 80 per cent on Metacritic.